Uma Maheswari, a qualified PG who taught English in a private school in Erode, quit the private school when she cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). Two years later she is still waiting for her appointment order. “I was earning Rs. 29,000 a month as I was an English teacher with PG degree. Now I don’t have a job,” she rues.

She is among the 7,000 candidates, who despite high scores in the TET exams conducted by the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) in 2013 have not been offered jobs.

Scoring system“We have lost the chance due to the change in weightage structure,” said J. Priya a candidate who had scored 110 and yet not placed. The new structure is calculated based on the marks scored by a candidate in Class XII, degree, teacher education and TET.

“My son who had scored 87 per cent in the 2012 test did not qualify as per the rules that existed then. In 2013, he scored 102 marks, yet he has not got the job. But nearly 3,000 candidates with lower marks than him have been placed,” lamented R. Duraipandi, father of a candidate from Ramanathapuram.

Criteria confusion

Until 2013, the rule was that candidates with 90 marks out of 150 in TET were declared eligible. But just before the Lok Sabha elections, following protests from the SC/ST category candidates, the eligibility percentage was reduced to 55 per cent for all candidates. The government also introduced a new evaluation scheme.

Under the new scheme, 15 per cent of the marks scored each in the degree and teacher education degree were taken and 60 per cent of the mark scored in TET is added to it. This is then added to the total marks scored in Class XII.

“We don’t understand how the government came up with such a system. Some of us have taken the Group 1, others have taken Group 4, and marks will vary drastically. Besides, some of us have qualified from autonomous colleges where the valuation is different from government colleges. Around 15,000 candidates attended the certificate variation before the relaxation was announced. All those who have been appointed had qualified Class XII less than 10 years ago. They are the beneficiaries of the government’s decision to evaluate students more leniently in Class XII,” explained Ms. Priya.

On Sunday, the candidates presented a petition to the Chief Minister’s cell seeking her intervention.

“We took the test with great anticipation and desire to serve the government. We hope the government would make true our dream of becoming teachers,” said M. Jayakavitha Bharathi, a candidate from Harur.